The present invention relates to filing cabinets, and more particularly to mechanisms designed to prevent more than one drawer in a filing cabinet from being opened.
Filing cabinets and containers containing tow or more drawers are used to store items, documents, heavy files, tools, supplies, and other materials. In some instances, the opening of two drawers or more in such a cabinet at the same time can cause the cabinet to tip over and possibly cause serious injury to someone or damage to the items stored in the cabinet. In order to prevent the simultaneous opening of two drawers of such a cabinet and prevent the tipping over of the cabinet, the present invention provides a systemized mechanism where space limitations are a vital concern. The present invention is provided with an interlocking mechanism preventing a second drawer of the cabinet from being opened after a first drawer has been opened.
The present invention is also unique in that the cabinet can be designed with different sections, such as a top section with drawers and a bottom section with drawers, or left-hand side with drawers and right-hand side with drawers. The present invention then provides for the ability that each section could have a single drawer opened, while the other remaining drawers stay locked.
Filing cabinets are most often equipped with locks preventing any drawers from being opened. The lock is moved to a locking or closed position. The lock overrides any system designed to allow movement in a cabinet. In the prior art interlocking systems when the lock is activated no drawers can be opened at all. In the prior art cabinets, the lock must be activated or moved to a certain position to allow a drawer to open. The prior art interlock system functions to prevent the drawers from opening or only allowing one drawer to be opened where the lock is set to a certain position.
A system of locking all of the drawers and having an interlocking system that locks all but one of the drawers where space is a vital concern has not been developed until the present invention. The present invention provides for a significant number of components to be integrated and functionally combined to significantly reduce the space requirements and thereby reduce the weight of the cabinet. The present inventive cabinet combines an interlocking system with a locking mechanism so spatial constraints in the cabinet are not an impediment, and the present invention allows for the opening of a single drawer, if desired, in the cabinet without having to adjust the locking mechanism.
As noted, the current methods employed in cabinets or containers utilized today do not solve the issue of space limitations. Further, the reduction in parts, and therefore the reduced cost in production, in conjunction with the integration of common elements utilized in the locking system and the interlocking system of the cabinet or container provide significant cost reductions. By utilizing common parts, the reduction in breakage in the number of components is reduced, and a reduction in the weight of the cabinet is a result. Therefore, the reduction in components provides for easier and better mobilization of the cabinet, and a greater use of the storage space in a cabinet or container than was previously available.
Additionally, one of the other advantages of the present invention is a set of top drawers can be isolated or controlled from a bottom set of drawers allowing a single drawer to open from the different sections of the cabinet whether an upper or lower section of the cabinet. It should also be apparent that the present invention could be manufactured to allow for control of opening of a single drawer from a right-hand section of the cabinet or container and the opening of a single drawer from a left hand section of the cabinet or container.
As noted above, the locking and interlocking mechanisms known in the prior art have suffered from a number of disadvantages. A particular disadvantage is that many of these systems are complicated, and require complicated assembly and parts, with significant space requirements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,851 is directed to a file cabinet including slidably mounted drawers, provided with an interlock mechanism preventing the simultaneous opening of two drawers. The interlock mechanism includes an elongated channel having a fixed length and depth. Blocks and wedges are slidable within the channel along the length thereof. This system further includes and requires a cam means and an actuator for forcing wedges into the channel.
Many systems are designed to prevent a second drawer from opening when a first drawer is already open, however, none has the added flexibility noted above of controlling sections of the drawers and allowing if desired, only a single drawer to open for that particular section.
In light of the foregoing, the desirability of combining an interlocking and locking system to overcome the prior art disadvantages and space limitation can be seen in the present invention.